Hi all,

I am not sure if this is posted in the right section or not, but I have a bit of problem and was wondering if anybody might have any ideas or advice. Years ago, my father bought a Hardy Jet rod for my son - who was really young at the time, but now old enough to use it. The rod had been put away, and to my horror, when I got it back from my mother yesterday, where it had been stored in her cellar, I discovered that it had become damp, and the reel seat seems to have corroded quite badly. It is corroded to the point that the part of the reel seat that would need to be screwed up or down to fix in the reel(if that makes sense?) has become jammed - almost fixed to the actual seat. This makes it impossible to put a reel onto the rod . I cleaned it up as best as I could, and have tried various ideas to get it loose / moving again (olive oil, soaked in warm soapy water etc) but to no avail.

I wonder if anybody would have any ideas or know of anything that I could use to save it? I picked up some WD40 this morning to give that a go, but would be really grateful if any of you would have some suggestions I'm gutted about it.

Thanks very much.

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Every dog has its day.....

What is the screw up or down bit made of? Also what is the screw/threaded bit made of? If it's the same as my superlite, the ring is alloy and the thread plastic. Anyway wd should sort it, but if not Parrafin if a mighty releasing fluid. I would fill a pot just deep enough to submerge the siezed parts and leave for 2-3 hours, the Parrafin should work it's magic by then.

Also boiling water would expand the ring, give it a slow poured kettle full and as the last drop is gone quickly try to move the ring by hand wearing stout gardening gloves.

Strange you should mention the Hardy Jet my daughter has just found one in the loft with her other fishing ,stuff she didnt know she had it, bought a job lot a few years ago,,its a 7.8, any one know anything about these rods,
i would welcome it thanks

christy27 - thank you. I am going to try WD40 when I get home this evening, but will give the parrafin a try too if I am still struggling. I am not sure what the 'screw part' is made of, but it appears to be the same as the thread it screws up and down on, which is, I assume is alloy?

Thanks again.

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Every dog has its day.....

hi,my daughter say,s reel locking screws up and is alloy,ive just phoned her,
hope this helps

Jets were part of the then excellent Hardy Glassfibre production of around 40ish years ago .

Reelseat should be aluminium - if paraffin and WD40 fail to free - it isn't that hard of a job to physically remove it and fit a modern Fuji in its place to get the rod back fishable !

Good luck

Steve P

Corroded aluminium can be treated by a 30 minute soak in a mixture of one part vinegar to four parts warm water (keep the rest of the handle out of the mixture though - a flower vase, or pint pot would be good).

Then soak again in a warm bath of weak washing up liquid and water. Brush the metal with a tooth brush, and attempt to wriggle it free. If it doesn't work, repeat the process.

As Steve says, good luck!

regards,

Doc

Thank you all very much. I will try all of these ideas. I really appreciate your advice. I will let you know how I get on. Cheers lads.

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Every dog has its day.....

if it's badly corroded then even if you free the reel screw the reel will probably still be in a bad state. i'd recommend getting a new reel seat fitted. you have two options, a new hardy reel seat, which may be difficult and expensive to source, or an aftermarket seat which can cost £20 upwards (not including fitting).

there are quite a few experienced and professional rod builders here on the forum. try posting in the rod building section to see if anyone would be willing to fit one for you. i'm sure there's plenty of people willing to help.

hope that helps

steve

Ref "anyone know anything about these rods ?"

There's a bit of history, some of it rather sad actually, in this old thread...

Hardy Jet 9' #6 fly rod

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"Depend on it Sir, this is a battle you sometimes win, and sometimes must expect to lose" - the Compleat Angler
JH based near Southampton